Game chips for use in a game such as bingo are well known. The most relevant prior art game chips are those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,019,747 and 4,172,597.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,019,747, there is illustrated a variety of constructions. The most relevant construction is shown in FIGS. 4, 4a. The chip disclosed in said patent is difficult and expensive to manufacture since the inner periphery of the ring must be knurled. Further, said patent specifically teaches that the ring must be thinner than the thickness of the disk whereby the major faces of the disk are free to contact the juxtaposed face of the bingo card. In accordance with the present invention, that feature is considered to be undesirable.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,172,597, the transparent or translucent disk has a metal screen embedded therein. The metal screen partially obscures the numerals on the bingo card. Also, the wires utilized to form the screen have exposed ends at the outer periphery of the disk which may mark or scratch cards, other disks, a user's fingers, etc. and thereby are a safety hazard.
The game chip of the present invention solves the problems associated with the prior art described above and provides other advantages.